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Friday, July 23, 2010

Gazpacho de Frutas

Happy Friday! So in my earlier blog, I remarked that Jose my boyfriend was up visiting me from Mexico these last few weeks. I also promised to post some mexican food recipes. This is the easiest one ever and the perfect summer snack! It is for gazpacho, one of my favorite mexican "street foods." We made it for my family who is all here taking care of my grandma and let me say, despite some trepidation at first (due to the strange combo of fruits, veggies, and spices), once everyone took a bite, they declared it an amazing success. The bowl was emptied in about five minutes flat. It just goes to prove that you shouldn't ever judge a new food before trying it!

When I was living in Morelia, I would basically get this every day after work. In Mexico, they have entire restaurants dedicated to making Gazpacho, but the little shop down the street from my apartment made the best! They always had the freshest fruit and I NEVER got a sour mango or mealy watermelon in my gazpacho from them. The whole thing only cost 2.00 to boot! So, you may be wondering, what exactly is gazpacho? This has caused a lot of confusion as the most commonly known gazpacho is a chilled soup with spanish origins. The gazpacho I know, however, is a mixture of fruits and vegetables, cut up and mixed with fresh squeezed lemon and lime juices and tossed with queso fresco and salt y chile al gusto (however spicy you want it.) The combinations are endless! Ranging from the super traditional - made with mango, watermelon, cucumber, jicama, onion, and chile serrano (serrano peppers), to the super simple - just mango for example. You can order it with whatever assortment of fruit and veggies you like (as long as they have them on hand). My favorite combination is mango, watermelon, jicama, and cucumber with extra cheese and chili powder. It may sound strange to combine jicama and cucumber with a fruit mix but they soak up the flavors and are very refreshing! The salt is a great addition as well and really brings out the flavors of the fruit. If you are on a low-sugar diet you can also make this with just the veggies. Queso fresco is a mild tasting white cheese that can be found at most grocery stores nowadays, or at your local mexican tienda. Jose and I bought all our ingredients at a local mexican fruit and vegetable market. It was pretty cheap and we were able to get a variety of mango types as well as pre-cut watermelon. In our recipe, we left out onion and serrano peppers as my family is not big on spicy foods or onion. I would recommend cutting up all the fruit and mixing it with the orange and lime juice and then letting people add their extra ingredients to their own liking. This recipe is also perfect for summer as no cooking whatsoever is involved. I hope you enjoy this little mexican bocadillo (snack) as much as I do!

Gazpacho de Frutas

Mexican Fruit Gazpacho

Serves 4 -5 people

We bought three different types of mango - the smallest one on the right is a miniature manila or ataulfo mango, the one in the middle is a typical Haden Mango, the one on the right is a normal sized manila mango. I recommend using the regular manilla mango as it is sweetest and less fibrous than Haden.

Ingredients

3 mangos (I recommend the yellow manilla mango)

1/3 large watermelon

1/2 medium jicama

Juice from 4 oranges

Juice from 2 limes

Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste

Queso fresco (however much you want, I like LOTS!)

Process

Jose demonstrating how to peel a mango.

Peel mango and jicama (and cucumber if using).

Dice jicama, peeled mango, and watermelon (or whatever mix of fruit/veggies you are using) into small cubes.

Juice the oranges and limes.

Mix juice and diced fruit in a large bowl.

Crumble the queso fresco and add to the mixture, add salt and chili powder to taste.

Its a really yummy root veggie. It looks kind of like a turnip on the outside and the flavor is really mild and almost sweet. It is sold at most grocery stores around here but I'm not sure about where you live... If you cant find it you can leave it out but it is a nice addition! I also eat it with a little bit of lime juice, sprinkled with chili powder and salt. Here is a link to an article about it.. More information than you ever wanted to know right? :) http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/columns/ferray_fiszer/jicama.htm